Arizona State University professor Gary Marchant will discuss the legal implications of genetically modified foods during a lecture on Thursday at Oregon State University.

His talk, "The Role and Rule of Law in the Global Development of Food Biotechnology," is part of OSU's 2007-08 Horning Endowment and Outreach in Biotechnology lecture series. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in the LaSells Stewart Center's C&E Auditorium on campus.

Are genetically modified foods safe? Should biotechnology products have special labels? Under what circumstances can nations restrict imports of modified foods? Should genes and modified organisms be patented? These and other difficult questions about biotechnology are ultimately decided by the law. Marchant's talk will examine the capability of law to decide such issues in a fair, scientifically credible, and socially acceptable manner.

For more information, contact the history department at 737-3421 or go to oregonstate.edu/cla/history/lectures/horning/07_08.php.